Mesoamerica Games

The games that are most like Olmec Ball Game are basketball and soccer. It’s most like soccer because the game has the players kick the ball and never use their hands, and in basketball you have to score through a hoop which is also the same. According to Matthew Gross who works for newsela, football also connects to The Olmec Ball Game because only men were allowed to play Women weren’t allowed to play football. Another way it connects to football is because it was only played in Mesoamerica just like football is only played in America. The ball that is used to play the game is a solid rubber ball that is made out of natural latex, milky sap like fluid found in some plant. The ball was very dangerous, it was 10 to 30 cm in diameter and weighed from 500 g to 3.5 kg. This ball could easily hurt the players. The people who played would usually wear padding and protection to not get hurt from the heavy ball. A ballcourt was found dating to 1400 B.C. Also a model of a ballcourt from Nayarit in West Mexico shows that the the game was an important part of life in the ca. 300 B.C.–250 A.D. The main goal was to get a solid rubber ball through one of the rings. The players had to use their hands so it was harder than it seems. The team was made up of men only and had two or three people. There was a different and less popular version that made the players hit sticks. This ball game is so interesting and

The role of women in society during the 1800s were to respect their husbands and be house wives. No life expectations were placed upon these women other than being a loyal wife to their husbands. Furthermore, the sports that were practised in school were light and gentle drills to prepare the girls for marriage and motherhood. However, a very small amount of the sports were open to women which lead to little amounts of women participation in sports. Even if the women had the talent or the dreams to become accepted in a certain sport, they were either humiliated by people in society or they were just plainly embarrassed to have taken a liking to a certain sport. Moreover, there was a certain type of body figure that every women strived to have, and this was the hourglass figure. This impacted the type of clothing they wore while playing sport to socialise. These clothing were heavy and modest which covered up much of their skin so these women did not show any inappropriate parts of their body.

The ball game was played “for many reasons, including entertainment and competition. Because the losers were frequently sacrificed, ball games also served as a way to reenact wars with enemy peoples” (Foster, 2002, p.195). To play, the ball is kept in the air by hitting it with the hips, thighs or upper arms and bouncing it of the side walls. The use of the hands or feet was forbidden. The solid rubber ball was extremely hard and causes serious injuries. The ball game “participants wore padding on their forearms and knees as protection against the hard ball and even harder masonry surfaces of the ball courts” (Foster, 2002, p.195). To protect ribs and the torso players would wear a U-shaped belt or yoke. They were made out of leather or wicker. Hachas “were axlike stone implements shaped like animal, bird, or human heads and worn inserted in the belt” (Foster, 2002, p.195). It’s also said that “the motions of the ball were thought to parallel the motions of the sun, moon, and Venus as they rose through the sky and sank in the Underworld” (Foster, 2002, p.195). There’s a spiritual story associated with the ball game about the Hero Twins from the Popol

This Article, is from the Sociology of Sport Journal, title “Learning Lessons in Tee Ball”: “The Reinforcement of Gender and Status in Kindergarten Sport”. The article was written by Melissa A. Landers and Gary Alan Fine University of Georgia (1996). The article describes how “status and gender roles can become reinforced at the earliest stage of organized sports” (Landers & Fine 1996). The data collected was done “through field notes that the authors took during participation” (Landers & Fine). The children that were being observed were “between the ages of 5 and 6”. There was a total of 24 children “13 Caucasian boys”, “6 Caucasian girls”. “4 African American boys”, and “1 Asian-American boy” all this children were from “working-class and middle class families” (Landers & Fine 1996).

The Mesoamerican ball game began over 3,500 years ago. Ceremonies, city and daily life revolved around this exciting sport. The survival of the both the players and the spectators depended on the outcome of the game. The Mesoamerican ball game had a court to play on, a ball that was used during the game, uniforms that the players wore, and rules to follow during gameplay. Even though the Mesoamerican ball game was the first sport, it was a very advanced sport with how many different ideas went into the creation of the game. The ball game was found all over Latin America including in the Olmec, Toltec, Maya and Aztec civilizations with the Olmecs believed to be the inventors of the game. The Mesoamerican ball game was not just an exciting and dangerous sport; it was a winner takes all competition. The ball game was a game of life or death.

The games background is full of information and very interesting. From what we know the court is called tlachtli or tlachco and the ball is called an ulli. The court was shaped like an “I” with sloping walls all around it. And the walls were around 8 to 11 feet in height. The court was usually 200 feet to 300 feet in length. The Mayan court of Chichen Itza was 315 feet by 98 feet (Hill).The courts were beautifully decorated in plaster and paint. They used different animals to decorate as well like jaguars, snakes, and raptors. These represented human sacrifice. The court had lines along it and a main center line.

A sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. Sports originated in early history as males only, and was often used to see which male was more dominant. In today’s society sports have a different meaning and is played by both genders, but still holds a mentality of superiority. In this essay, I will be arguing the Social Constructs of Masculinity in Sports in the language and the actions used when performing these activities through both genders and how some actions are acceptable for one gender and not for the other. Using Laurel Richardson’s article Gender Stereotyping in the English Language, and X: A Fabulous Child’s Story by Lois Gould. The article and story will help distinguish the use of words in our society and how they are incorporated in sport and how the actions of a person that does not fit the social standard faces repercussions for their actions.

Through the movies viewed in this course this semester, we saw women who were able to play against men and still keep their femininity. Nothing is lost when playing sports not traditionally meant for a particular race or gender. Society must become more understanding when it comes to the sports different types of people play and hinder from stereotyping anyone when they participate and perform well in that sport.

B. Some suggest that the earliest signs of a feet-based ball game date back as far as 2500BC, during which time the Greeks, Egyptians and Chinese all appear to have partaken in such games.

Three years ago, Chelsea McClammer approached the starting line for her first race of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games when, suddenly, her coach began to panic.

Older children and adults were the only ones allowed to play sports. It was believed that young children were too weak to play. Some sports, like wrestling, were to help prepare young men for battle. Wrestling was a popular sport for

Another reason as to why the ancient games are regarded highly is because Persian king Xerxes, “on hearing that Olympia awarded only wreath prizes, marveled that Greeks competed not for material reward, but “only for honor”” (Kyle 34). The games were often associated with “physical effort, fair competition…, and sacred truce” (Callebat 556). The ancient games were meant to create a sense of peace for festivities dedicated to their gods. To do something underhanded was not justifiable.

The game had a certain influence in the societies where it was played as it represented aspects surrounding the people involved. It was believed that it ensured discrimination in the society did not prevail at all costs and that is why the game was free to both genders and while it started as a game for the rich, the rich made an effort for those in the lower class to get a glimpse of what it involved.

Some of the games are Discus, it is where you have a disc and you are in a ring and throw it as far as you can throw. Also they had wrestling which they don 't have now, but back then they were naked and had oil all over them. Another game was running like “the stade race, which was the pre-eminent test of speed, covering the Olympia track from one end to the other (200m foot race),” another running event was “the diaulos (two stades - 400m foot race), dolichos (ranging between 7 and 24 stades”(Olympic). Some of the other events were jumping like “Athletes used stone or lead weights called halteres to increase the distance of a jump. They held onto the weights until the end of their flight, and then jettisoned them backwards.” Another event was Boxing, “Boxers wrapped straps (himantes) around their hands to strengthen their wrists and steady their fingers. Initially, these straps were soft but, as time progressed, boxers started using hard leather straps, often causing disfigurement of their opponent 's face”(Olympic). Another event was Pankration and “this was a primitive form of martial art combining wrestling and boxing, and was considered to be one of the toughest

1. - There has not been that much proof and evidence to determine who developed sports and games but many believe that it was passed down from other cultures near the region where the Phoenicians enjoyed the same activities which are the same rituals and practices that the Greeks used.